Conversations: Chuckwunonso Angel Dureke
Filmmaker
Tell us about your own personal story and why you decided to pursue film.
My name is Chuckwunonso Angel Dureke and I am first-generation-born Nigerian American storyteller. My mediums of practice are directing, writing and producing but I also have a fond interest in art direction and creative direction when it comes to production design and how it aligns with the world created for the story, - especially when creating new worlds. Storytelling has always seemed to come naturally to me since I was a child. When I was in middle school my older sister, Chi-Chi, and I wrote and published a book called Arts, Poems and Stories of the Heart, where I wrote the stories and my sister Chi-Chi did the illustrations and painting. We both were only children then but looking back on it, with the support and encouragement of our parents we had found our callings at a young age. At the time we were one of the youngest authors in the State of Maryland and were featured in the Gazette newspaper. I knew our family was proud of us and was I happy to bring honor to my family but I think what really drew me in was the power I noticed storytelling had to keep my family connected and united to strangers who seemed different from us but could still see a ‘home’ in us.
At a young age, with the love and support of my parents, John Dureke and Ambassador Dr. Margaret Dureke who published the book under their publishing company JAHS Publishing, I was exposed to the power of stories. I quickly learned the writer’s paradox; everyone may have different experiences but we all have the same desires in life. But most importantly, my parents taught me that if you believe a story should be told then share with the world. You do not wait for other people to give you permission to tell that story instead try to create your own avenue and platform for it.
Growing up in a household with Nigerian parents and two sisters, my family seemed to always carry their experiences from Nigeria to America to inspire and enlighten those around them. Coming home from a normal day of school in America I witnessed my parents unpack their mental luggage full of stories each night for us to hear and unpack with them. As I and my two sisters got older, they would seem to reach deeper and deeper into their mental suitcases to find the story that we needed to see and learn from. I used to think that my experiences as a child born to immigrant parents in America was so farfetched from the lives my parents had navigating from growing up in Nigeria to living in America. Each of the stories they told us about the lives of their loved ones or lost friends over the years seemed so unthinkable to me at the time. My mind just couldn’t process at the time how the joys and pains felt in America were that different from those experienced in Nigeria, or other parts of the world. It wasn’t until I got older, I realized the full depth of my mother’s saying, “Nothing is new under the Sun.” It then hit me, yes, I am first generation Nigerian- American through birth but I am second generation through my experiences. My parents who came to the states earlier in their adulthood for higher education and later fell in love on the whimsical streets of New York City in the 80’s were also first-generation Nigerian-Americans but through experiences. I believe my family has shaped the way I like to tell stories and had a major influence on the way I shape my narrative. Film is my chosen avenue and platform for storytelling.
How would you describe your approach to storytelling?
I love to create new worlds that examine old truths, all of my work deals with magical realism and Afrofuturisms’. The Nollywood movies I watched growing up, coupled with my fascination of classic films have shaped how I look at the nature and fabric of a story. I really love the freedom Afrofuturism gives me to express myself. I think my style of Afro-futurism is closer to the Nollywood method. It’s not necessarily based on the special effects but more so on how everyday things we experience in life and overcome as human beings assigned to this earth as extensions of God love is already magical. My work challenges the notion of what is real and what is just another form of conditioning. It also explores the power of asking why while undressing the past. I think this is what attracts me to Afro-Futurism so much. A lot of people claim it is a pretty new lane but I think the genre has always naturally been.
In the many realms of Afro-futurism the living and the dead exist at the same time; time itself is non-linear and our dreams are never separate from our reality. The silhouette of our sense of storytelling is shaped by the magical immortality of our experiences. Afro-Futurism is a place where one’s past and future dance hand in hand with the present. My style of work honors the concept of linage, legacy and a magical connection to all the things around us in life. Afro-futurism is the history of real people who have lived through traumatic events yet still survived and created new worlds and communities. Til this day; the magical stories of the diaspora have not died neither has our spirit. I do not think there is only one way to tell a story and my approach to storytelling challenges the western standards of how a story should feel and be told. In the worlds that I create my character will always live and experience life in the round where the evidence of our now pours into the next day, sun and moon going around and around reappearing to be seen in human form, just as they both meet in the middle greeting each and/or dishonoring our ancestors with their decisions. Ultimately, it is God in all of us that I want my work to honor.
Why have viable directing opportunities remained so elusive for women—particularly, Black women?
There are a lot of moving variables that work against women in filmmaking and directing such as pioneers like, Alice Guy-Blaché and African American female directors such as Kathleen Collions and my mentor Julie Dash. The challenges female storytellers’ face day to day in this male-dominated field is something most female filmmakers have to constantly keep in mind while creating. Historically speaking, the role of a director is usually a space that men have filled and dominated tremendously over the years; women are really just now getting a chance to demand to be seen in these spaces outside of the independent film industry.
A lot of women who work in film tend to come from the independent circuit because it has become a safe space for women to build their catalogs and resumes. Over the years’ women have leveraged this space to help prove their “worthiness” for getting the right opportunities to be hired to direct more blockbuster types of films. However, I do not think it is just that women have to prove their qualifications in this way when it comes to film, there are so many women who are trained professionals moving and operating excellently in the industry now. In a sense, all the gender politics in the industry reminds me of the nature of “Mommy-tracking.” I do one day hope to see things change when it comes to the opportunities for women to direct bigger films, but it can only happen if the gatekeepers of storytelling provide more opportunities and platforms specifically for women.
Women are capable of holding any position on the set of any production, ones gender should not be factor in determining if a person is qualified to direct a film. when it comes to African-American women we tend to have a little more variable working against our rise in the film industry that can no longer be ignored. I believe that a lot of successes in the film industry is based on access, financial liberty, exposure and funding. All of these variables make it extremely harder for African-American women to even attempt to build their resumes in the independent film industry to then one day leverage to potentially be taken seriously in Hollywood settings. Without access, the proper funding, training, or exposure to how things are done in the industry, aspiring African-American female directors don’t necessarily have a chance to be in these spaces to learn and grow in their crafts. I seriously believe more programs like Ghetto Film School and the Black House Foundation should be pushed on bigger platforms.
Personally, after graduating and getting my Masters in Film from Howard University, the only HBCU with a Masters in Film program, I have made it a part of my journey as a filmmaker to teach what I have learned to those coming after me. I am still a student of life and a student of my craft but I am using my knowledge and experiences to work with my family’s non-profit WETATi which means ( We’re Empowered To Achieve the impossible) to work with inner-city schools such as Ballou High School in Washington DC to highlight the importance of learning technical and media training when it comes to storytelling. With WETATi we teach each student to spell impossible with a lower case (i) because we know people or anyone with a dream gauge what is possible or impossible usually based on access, support, structure, and knowledge. As the President of WETATi Next Generation Corporate and WETATi’s Multimedia Producer, I’ve made it my life’s mission to continue to educate the youth especially young African American women on the different possibilities of what their career choices could be. I never want anyone to feel like their race or gender could automatically disqualify them from being able to thrive in various spaces or careers.
Why do you feel representation matters in film?
Representation matters because we are all conditioned to believe in what we see and if one does not see themselves or varies non- monolithic images of themselves how could one ever properly believe in themselves and begin to unpack their existence. Images are powerful and these days we all communicate our values visually with how we want to be seen. But if one does not have access to determine how others see them and their community their voice will be lost and programmed by someone else; leaving them helpless and left to consume this constructed narrative. I believe in strategic storytelling and changing the narrative in filmmaking, which is why I started my own production company called Dureke Productions LLC, a multimedia production house & creative agency with concepts produced and curated by me and my team. For a long time, I would turn on the TV or go on the internet and have this longing to see myself, family, friends, and my community but after a while I just got tired of complaining and I decided to go do it myself. Rather than asking for a seat at the table one must create their own.
Given the innovative advances in communications and technology, what are some of the ways that independent directors can find an audience for their work?
The digital area has limitlessly changed the possibilities of storytelling and visual communication. Think outside of the box and use the internet to create and push what you have always wanted to see. The worldwide web has invited many independent filmmakers into the households of thousands of people across the world. So my advice to any independent filmmaker such as myself is, just keep creating an putting your work out there in the traditional ways like festivals and nontraditional way like the internet , YouTube and Vimeo, or social media platforms like Instagram. Sooner or later the right people who aligned with your gifts and vision will see it. They will always be someone out there searching for what you are creating; you just have to be diligent enough to saturate the market where your story and intent to tell it by any means necessary cannot be ignored.
If you would like to keep up with any my latest projects people can find my work at www.DurekeProductions.com and they can also follow us on all social media platforms
@DurekeProductions especially our YouTube channel where I plan to share more work for people to enjoy and stream. People can follow my journey on my personal Vimeo account vimeo.com/chuckwunonsoangeldureke or Instagram @PanAfriaka